Formation of a Performace-based MC&A Assessment Program

Department of Energy Order 5633.3, Control and Accountability of Nuclear Materials, requires each facility possessing nuclear material (NM) to \"establish a program to assess its control and accountability systems and procedures, and to assure the integrity and quality of these systems.\" This paper describes the formation of a performance-based assessment group within Westinghouse Savannah River Company fWSRC) Material Control and Accountability (MC&A) in response to this requirement. The Assessment Group was formed to evaluate both compliance to requirements and system performance capability as determined by performance testing. Evaluations address the five functional areas of MC&A: administration, containment, accounting, measurement, and inventory programs. The assessments performed by this group are used to substantiate the degree of MC&A compliance with requirements and to determine system capability to protect NM in accordance with graded safeguards. Assessment reports provide documented evidence of the integrity and quality of the systems comprising the MC&A program at WSRC.